THE CHARITY Shield was billed as the showdown between football's greatest rivals.

THE CHARITY Shield was billed as the showdown between football's greatest rivals.

On the day it was much more fundamental than that and the star strikers showed us what they could do.

I couldn't wait to compare Manchester United's new boy Ruud van Nistelrooy with Liverpool's Michael Owen. They are so different in style, but the common link is goals.

Owen likes to drop deep off the main front runner, in this case Emile Heskey. His strengths are his pace and his awareness.

He likes to run at defenders. Having played at the back I know how uncomfortable this can be.

Van Nistelrooy is different. He plays right up on the last two defenders, spinning off them at the last minute and tries to get between his markers. It can be equally effective.

Both men scored outstanding goals in the majestic Millennium Stadium. But Owen also created Liverpool's penalty, scored by Gary McAllister inside a minute after Danny Murphy was brought down by Roy Keane.

This is why I personally would not swap Owen for the Dutchman who United valued at #19 million.

What price Owen? For me, it would have to be #30 million which would outstrip Van Nistelrooy's valuation and the British record #28 million United paid for midfielder Juan Veron.

Do you think even Sir Alex Ferguson would dispute this? I don't think so. I can't wait for the Kop ace to sign his new contract. That moment cannot come quickly enough.

Just look at Michael's recent record. In the run-in to last season's glorious treble he scored a league hat-trick against Newcastle, a double against Chelsea, two more in the FA Cup Final against Arsenal and a further strike in the final Premier League game against Charlton. This helped clinch Liverpool's place in the qualifying stage of the Champions League.

Last week Owen grabbed a treble in that same competition against Haka. His superbly executed Charity Shield goal against United was the sign of a young man on fire.

It's incredible to think that the season before last, bedevilled by injury and low on confidence as a result, some people suggested we had seen the best of Michael Owen. The truth is, what he can achieve in the game is immeasurable.

Watching England boss Sven Goran Eriksson must be one of the game's happiest international bosses right now. He's got a string of magnificent young players, fittingly wearing Liverpool and United shirts. The future looks bright for England.

It also looks tremendous for Liverpool.

Those who were saying that the Charity Shield is an irrelevance in terms of who will win the game's big honours this season are technically correct. But this was never going to be a charitable affair. Liverpool and United don't know how to play a friendly.

Gerard Houllier's men stung United before the break. Alex Ferguson's men responded like champions should.

I didn't hear the whistle for the start of the second half. I heard a bell. Ferguson and his lads came out fighting.

Van Nistelrooy, not to be totally overshadowed by Owen, revealed his own star quality to pull one back. It was the signal for Liverpool to show all the steel that was the hallmark of their game last season.

Suddenly Owen did not have any support and all the attacking ideas came from a United side driven forward by David Beckham. As far as he was concerned this could have been a Champions League final.

Liverpool were rocked back on their heels. But they were up for the fight and clung on to make it three wins in a row over United. The winning habit has not deserted the Reds over the Summer.

United boss Ferguson had thrown down the gauntlet before this clash by nominating Chelsea as his side's greatest threat this season while demanding of Liverpool "Show us if you're good enough?"

Let's hope the great man, in his final season, has got the message. WE ARE!